Steering-wheel for automobiles.



J. B. DUMAIS. v STEERING FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLIOATIOR FILED SEPT. 28,1907. Q

Patented Aug. 10,1909.

UNITED STATES PATENT onnron.

JEAN B. DUMAIS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ,ASSIGNOR OFONE-FOURTH' TO ELMER J. MERCIL AND ONE-FOURTH TO BENONI MERCIL, BOTH OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

" srnnnme-wrmnr. FOR; nu'romonrmas.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 10, 1909.

Application filedJSeptenzberZS, 19b7, Serial No. 384,971.

Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steering-Wheels for Automobiles, of which the followingis a full, clear, and exact specification.

My invention is concerned with a novel mounting of the steering wheels ofautomobiles upon therigid front axle, so that they can be readily turned, as'may be necessary in steering vehicles. In these machines, as heretofore constructed, the axle skeins have been pivotally secured to the rigid front axle bar by yoke connections entirely outside of the hub of the wheel, with the result that the strains on the wheels were transmitted to the axle with a leverage that tended to break the pivoted joint, and with the further result that it made it almost impossible to turn the axle skeins of the wheels if the machine was at rest and very difficult to turn them when it was in motion, so that accidents often 00- curred because the steering gear could not be -manipulated quickly enough with the slow moving connections that were necessary to give the required power. Toremedy these 'fliculties, I have-made the skeins of a s ecial design that flare near the ends sol t at they can be pivoted to the ends of the stationary axle bar at .a point inside of the skeins, and preferably in thevertical planes of the tires and spokes of the wheels.

To illustrate my invention I annex hereto a sheet of drawings in which the same reference characters are used to designate identical arts, in all the figures of which lgure 1 is a vertical section through the axle of a wheel embodyin -my' invention; Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectlonthrough the wheel; and Fig. 3 is an inner end elevation of the hub of the wheel.

The skein a of the axlemay be of any-de- 5 sired design, except that it is practically essential to have the "inner end flaring, as shown, and I preferably employ, the annular ring seat I) in which is fittedand secured a' hardened.steel bearing ringc, the aperture d of which is rectangular in outline to accommodate the end of the axle bar 6 and to ermit the swinging of the skein on the axle ar.

y as is necessary in turning the vehicle The pivotal connections between. the skem'and the axle bar are formed by the pinf which .art.

of the axle bar, and which preferably has its ends riveted in the skein to hold the bearing ring 0 in place. The hub 9 will be of the necessary shape to cooperate with the skein, and ball or roller bearings h and 'i of any desired design are preferably employed to reduce the friction. The inner end of the skein a has the enlarged annular flange j, and secured upon this flange 7' in any suitable manner, preferably by a plurality of set screws 7:, is the bearing disk I, which has the elongated rectangular slot m therein to accommodate the axle bar e as the skein is swung about it. The engaging surfaces, if not the entire disk Z, are hardened, and I preferably provide the it passes through a suitable aperture in the end I outwardly projecting flange n to close the joint and prevent the dust from entering the bearings. The link 0 which connects the two skeins and which is connected'with the steeringmechanism in an customary manner, is pivotally secured to te disks Z, preferably by the ears 1), which may be formed integrally with said disks.

The mode of operation of my improved apparatus will be readily apparent, as the w eels can be swung on the axle in thesame manner as in the ordinary construction with erly machine and harden the bearing sur-. faces of the aperture 11 if-it were made in: the

skein itself instead of a separate ring or disk. While Ihave shown and described my in-' vention as embodied in the form which I consider the best adapted to carry out the. pur-- poses for which it is designed, it is understood that I do not desire'to be limited in the inter-- :pretation and scope of the claims, except as may be necessitated by the state of the prior What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a device of the class described, the

combination with a stationary axle bar, of

skeins having flaring inner ends, plain bearmg rings having annular peripheries and rec- 'the advantage that the strains 'are trans- ,mitted directly to the ends of the axle bar,

tangular' openings secured in the skeins subcornbinatien with a stationary axle bar, of

skeins having flaring ends, plain bearing rings having annular peripherles and rectangular ropenings secured in the-skeins substantially "in-the plane of the spokes and the tires, bearinglpins passing throngh the ends of the axle .-bar and secured in the rings. wheel hubs suiting horizontal bearing slots through which 15 the axle bar passes, the caps closing the inner ends of the skelns and covering the annular 'o'pening between said inner ends of the skeins and the hubs.

my hand, and affixed my seal, this 23rd day of September, A. D. 1907.

JEAN B. DUMAIS. [L. s.] Witnesses JNo. G. ELLI0TT,

JOHN HOWARD MCELROY.

Inpwitness'whereof, I have hereunto set 20 

